The views and opinions expressed on this site and blog posts (excluding comments on blog posts left by others) are entirely my own and do not represent those of any employer or organization with whom I am currently or previously have been associated.

Academic Version: Applying my personal experiences and academic research as a professor of Sociology and Asian American Studies to provide a more complete understanding of political, economic, and cultural issues and current events related to American race relations, and Asia/Asian America in particular.

Plain English: Trying to put my Ph.D. to good use.

June 27, 2005

Written by C.N.

As another indication of America’s obsession with lists and rankings, Forbes Magazine has released its list of the 100 Most Powerful Celebrities (presumably from around the world, since several international sports stars are on the list). The list is based on combined rankings for pay, web hits in search engines, press coverage, and TV appearances. For your convenience, the top 10 are:

How many Asians or Asian Americans are on the list? Don’t hold your breath. Apparently, the only Asian American on the list is Kimora Lee Simmons, fashion designer and wife of hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons. I suppose that it’s not a complete shock that there are virtually no Asians or Asian Americans on the list, but I am a little surprised that Aishwarya Rai, Bollywood superstar and the internationally proclaimed “World’s Most Beautiful Woman,” isn’t on the list somewhere.